


Fins and Captains

by wynnebat



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age of Sail, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Attempted Murder, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 14:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19087000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat
Summary: Boredom flees his mind when the ship sailing through his waters drops something precious into his depths.Not treasure, of which Harry has much of, nor garbage, which Harry would have been very cross to see. It is a human. Harry swims closer to the surface. Up above, it is night, but that is nothing for a merman's eyes. The human is panicked, thrashing, his feet chained to a rock that drags him down to the bottom of the sea.The human's eyes are wide. He doesn't dare open his mouth, but he reaches for Harry, not for the surface, and he begs with his gaze.Please.





	Fins and Captains

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Workshop's [June monthly drabble](http://www.roughtrade.org/the-workshop/topic/june-2019-monthly-drabble/).

Harry can sense it when the surface of his little sea is disturbed. It rarely happens as humans fear to stray into these tempestuous waters often plagued with thunder and lightning on the surface. Even ships are a rare sight, to Harry's disappointment. Safety and boredom war within him. But not today. Boredom flees his mind when the ship sailing through his waters drops something precious into his depths.

Not treasure, of which Harry has much of, nor garbage, which Harry would have been very cross to see. It is a _human_. Harry swims closer to the surface. Up above, it is night, but that is nothing for a mer's eyes. The human is panicked, thrashing, his feet chained to a rock that drags him down to the bottom of the sea.

The human's eyes are wide. He doesn't dare open his mouth, but he reaches for Harry, not for the surface, and he begs with his gaze. _Please_.

Harry reaches back. There are some mers who would kill any humans who dare to break the surface of their territory, but Harry isn't one of them. Those mers are overcompensating for the length of their fins. He grips the human firmly and breaks the chains with some effort. From there, it is only a short swim to the small island in the middle of Harry's sea.

Harry deposits the gasping, coughing human onto the beach. Despite his better judgment, he lingers.

"Thank you," the human manages to say. He stares at Harry, his eyes wide. Under the moonlight and this close to the surface, he must see Harry's tail, but he doesn't ask. "I owe you my life."

"You won't survive long on the island." It has been a long time since Harry has spoken. The words feel strange on his tongue. "Do you want to go back to your ship?"

"No," the human immediately says. "There was a mutiny by someone I was foolish to trust. If I go back, I would only be thrown to my death again." He is attractive, this human, even when he asks favors of Harry. "I don't suppose you could take me to America."

"Through foreign waters, dark mer tribes, and sharks?"

"I suppose that was asking for too much," the human admits. "I'm lucky to be alive."

"You are." Harry holds the human's gaze. It's a very pretty gaze. Like shells at the bottom of the sea, the kind that are beautiful and will clamp down on your fins if you aren't careful. "What's your name, lucky human?"

"Percival Graves. And yours, kind creature?"

"You haven't earned it yet," Harry tells him, grinning at the human's gall. As though he would give his name like any old human. "I'll be back in the morn, and you can tell me where America is. And what it is, for that matter."

And down he goes, taking a twirl against the sandy floor.

A human. _Percival_.

Boredom can take a swim.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm also on [tumblr](https://wynnefic.tumblr.com/).


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